Long-throw attachment for flat-knitting machines



vS E N I H w M 5k N Tl T T I F m 1 m F 2. n. P F w T H M d M n H C .1 A F T n 1 S `m\\ f LI Y w m 55.13% .m m @Q m hm. .WN @+I m mi I 5 5 w L A? E M O mm. m .4m E G l S Q wm mm 9 9m Q M. o .5m n 1 w om CII Patented Sept. 29, 1925.

UNITED STATES HERMAN IP. RUF, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LONG-THROW ATTACHMENT FOR FLAT-KNITTING MACHINES.

Application filed July 2, 1924. Serial No. 723,724.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN P. RUF, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Long-Throw Attachments for Flat-Knitting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to flat knit-ting machine and more particularly to attachments for fringe or other machines yof the general nature illustrated in the patent to Frelloehr and Tisch, 457 ,265, August 4th, 1891.

Among the objects o-f this invention is to provide a lon-g throw attachment for flat 'knitting machines which is operable at higher speeds and more positive in action than the usual lever mechanism at present employed for the purpose.

Another object of this invention is to provide a long throw attachment operating without requiring the use of moving levers or .the like, whereby more positive action is obtained and with greater speed and less lost motion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a long throw .attachment which shall be both light and strong, and shall occu y no head room above the machine as in tie case of the usual lever mechanism.

Still another object of this invention is to .provide a long throw attachment having adjustable features to modify not only the speed lat which the attachment operates but also to permit of easy initial adjustment thereof when installing the attachment upon the machine.

*With the foregoing and other objects kin view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted .to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof .reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the. several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of my in- Vention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on Athe line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section-al detail on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 showing' an lend view of .the slide.

Fig. A4 is a detail view of the thread gui-de.

Referring now more specifically lto the drawings, l@ represents a base frame for a flat knitting machine carrying the vari- -ous usual devices and attachments among which are conventionally represented :a friction feed roll 11 for drawing the knitted material y(see roller U of the above mentioned patent), a needle bar 12, and a lrack or slide `bar 13 adapted to slide in the frame at 14, sai-d ba-r being fitted with a plurality of attached racks 15. Secured to the frame are standards or bars 16 bearing brackets or lsupports 17 which are substantialiy parallel to the needle `bar a-nd are provided with longitudinal slots 17 at the free ends -thereof. Adjustable bar-s or arms 18a-re provided for the respective standards, and these arms are slotted longitudinally at one end at 18', bolts 19 being passed through the slots `to attach the lower slotted ends of the arms tothe base frames, the yopposite ends being provided with ybolts 2O `engagi-ng the -bars 17 at the slots 17, .the arms or levers 18 being thus mounted for pivotal .adjustment about the centers at 19. Jour-naled upon the arms and approximately midway "between the ends thereof are pinions 21 Vand wheels 22 each wheel having peripheral guide Yflanges 23 at the sides thereof. One

pinion and one wheel constitute a coaxial pair, the effect bein-g to give both wheels a "like peripheral speed when the pinions are actuated by the racks 4on the .slide bar, the

pin-ions vmeshing constantly with the respec- Itive racks aforesaid. A steel ribbon or wire approximately :five or six diameters longer upon the l:bar 1'3, ibeing actuated by the ribbon to which it is fastened by means of a clamp 27. The slide is equipped with two pairs of rollers 28 to ride upon the edges of the slide bar and two pairs of rollers 29 to ride upon the sides thereofl thus insuring` smooth and reliable operation of the attachment. The slide consists preferably of two portions, one of which 26 has an integral arm 30 bearing the clamp 27 and a pair of side rollers 29 for one side of the slide bar, while the other 261 bears both pairs of edge rollers and a pair of side rollers. After being mounted upon the slide bar the two portions are fastened together as by screws or the like. Mounted upon the slide is a thread guide 31 which consists of wire or any other suitable material and has an eye 32 through which the weft or other thread to be carried back and forth along the needle bar is passed, while the other end is formed with a relatively long loop 33 through which a screw 3d is adapted to pass so as to secure said thread guide to the slide, said loop rendering the thread guide slidable for vertical adjustment in relation to the needle bar.

lhe slide bar is actuated in any conventional or convenient manner as by push rods 35, correspondingto the pins la and l of Patent 457,265, supra, a series of which are rotatably mounted at each end of the slide bar, the movement of the bar being an intermittent to and fro motion, a push rod at the right causing the bar to move toward the left and then rotating out of the way of the bar while another rod at the left rotates into alinement with the bar and then moves it toward the right. The movement of this bar being fairly rapid the racks cause a relatively high peripheral speed of the wheels with the result that the ribbon winds and unwinds upon each wheel with considerable speed, thus causing the slide to travel the length of the needle bar within the merest fraction of a second. Should it be desirable to regulate the throw of the slide a friction brake 36 can be used, which is pivotally secured to the bracket 17, a spiral spring 37 or the like being used to press the brake against the wheel, the tension of the spring being adjustable by fastening an end thereof in any suitable manner to a collar 38 which is rotatable upon a rio'id pin 39 so as to vary the tension in the spring, the collar being .serured against rotation by means of a thumb screw a() or the like bearing against l said pin.

'l' he superiority of my attachment for the purpose of throwing a weft thread along the needle bar of a flat knitting machine as for the making of fringes or the like and indeed for any other like purpose will be evident if it is remembered that my device is essentially rigid and positive in action, as well as compact in construction, the centers of the wheels being relatively close to the bar and consequently to the line of force whereby the rather considerable side spring with the resultant binding which occurs in a kinematic chain or other system of levers designed for a rapid straight line throw of considerable length is eliminated. Since the ribbon is uniformly under tension a smooth and positive operation is insured, there being as a consequence no lost motion between the racks and the pinions. Excellent results are obtainable with this device over a considerable range of speeds of the knitting machine including especially the higher speeds.

l' claim:

l. An attachment for knitting machines comprising a unitary rack and tube bar arranged for reciprocation along the machine, pinions coi-operating with the bar, a plurality of spaced pulleys having fixed axes and rotatable in like direction by said pinions when the bar is reciprocated, a slide movable on said unitary rack and tube bar, and flexible means arranged to wind and unwind on said pulleys in alternation to move the slide back and forth as the unitary rack and tube bar is reciprocated.

2. ln a long 'throw attachment, the combination with a rack bar movable back and forth, of a plurality of spaced pinions rotatable in unison thereby around liXed aXes, a plurality of wheels coaxial with the pinions and rotatable severally in like direction by said pinions, tension means longer than the distance between the centers of the aforesaid wheels attached to the peripheral portions of said wheels so as to wind and unwind intermittently thereupon as the same rotate in unison, and thread carrying means comprising a slide movable along the rack bar and adapted to grip the tension means so as to be moved back and forth thereby.

3. ln a knitting machine provided with a reciprocating tube bar and a tube plate mounted slidably thereon, a flexible member for sliding said plate along said tube bar, a pair of pulleys mounted t0 rotate around fixed axes adjacent to the ends of said bar, a pinion mounted coaxially with each pulley, a rack me aber attached to each end of the bar and movable therewith and meshing with the adjacent pinion, whereby the pulleys are rotated simultaneously at each reciprocation of the bar, and means securing the ends of the flexible member upon the peripheries of the pulleys for Winding thereon in alternation.

l. ln an attachment of the character described the combination of a plurality of spaced wheels rotatable around fixed axes, means to rotate the same in one direction,

and then in the opposite direction, taut tension means longer than the distance between the aforesaid wheels attached to the peripheral portions of said wheels so as to Wind and unwind intermittently thereupon, and thread carrying means comprising a slide adapted to grip said tension means for movement thereby back and forth, one element of the rotating means aforesaid comprising a reciprocating bar upon which the thread 10 carrying means is supported.

In testimony whereof I a'fiix my signature.

HERMAN P. RUF. 

